


Gunsmoke Residue

by finprop (orphan_account)



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Artist!Sam, M/M, kid!AU, mafia!au, single father!lucifer
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-20
Updated: 2014-07-21
Packaged: 2018-02-09 15:13:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,593
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1987638
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/finprop
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Lucifer is a single father with four daughters, and finds that it’s difficult to raise them all on his own and still hold down a job. Sam on the other hand is a young struggling artist in need of a steady income. The two end up neighbors and when Sam offers to babysit for a job, Lucifer can finally take a breather. The kids love Sam, and Lucifer takes quite a shine to him as well. Soon enough, the two of them strike up a fledgling romance. But they hit a roadblock in their relationship when Sam learns that Lucifer used to be involved with the Mafia."</p><p>Inspired by maraparkers's Sam/Lucifer AU graphic</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I did this on a complete whim, so it's un-beta'd as hell. And I mistook the prompt-ish thing, so... I took some liberties. And rewrote it a little. I hope there aren't any mistakes aside from that, but there most likely is. I'm sorry for that. (Betas are welcome.) Credit goes to maraparkers!!

It's roughly three AM when Sam Winchester rolls into San Francisco, bone tired from driving and low on fuel. He manages to crawl his car up into his assigned parking spot, his car shivering and coughing before finally shuddering to a stop. Sam sighs heavily. Tomorrow morning, he's going to have to get fuel. Doesn't know how--the closest gas station is a few miles out, and Sam is nowhere near ready to walk/run/get his ass all the way over there, no matter how much sleep he'll get--but he's going to have to. He'll figure that out in the morning.

 

Sam grabs his duffle and shuffles into the house, not bothering to flick on the lights as he collapses onto the couch. The door is still open, the front porch light casting a warm, yellow glow onto the front step and into the house. Sam is already asleep, too tired to have noticed.

 

Luckily, however, the landlord is walking his dog. With a hefty sigh, the man closes the door and locks it with the master key. _Kid was supposed to get in tomorrow_ , he thinks to himself. _Lucifer’s kids are going to get a kick out of this._

 

=

 

Sam wakes up to a soft rapping on his door. He jolts awake, the sudden movement allowing gravity to work against him and send him crashing the rest of the way off the couch and onto the floor. He yelps in surprise and groans loudly in pain when his head hits the hard wood flooring. Moaning to himself, he slowly pushes to his feet and struggles to the door, not at all caring out his dishevelled, tired appearance as he opens to greet his guest.

 

His guest is a few inches shorter than Sam with a scruffy beard, bright blue eyes, and one of those smushed caps that Sam can't remember the name of fitted nicely on his head. At his side is a black German shepherd, wagging its tail and staring up at Sam. It barks when Sam frowns down at it.

 

"Hello," Sam says, rubbing his eyes and yawning.

 

"Hello," the man says, chuckling. He's got some Southern accent that Sam can't quite place but he knows he's heard before. Shit. The landlord.

 

"Mr. Lafitte--" Sam gasps, straightening up and running a hand through his rumpled hair. "I'm sorry, I didn't--"

 

The landlord holds up a hand. "Call me Benny," he says with a warm smile. "Thought you'd be coming in later today,"

 

"I was supposed to. But I had to leave early because my earlier landlord decided she wanted me out right then," Sam says with a weak laugh.

 

"She didn't like you?"

 

"Understatement," Sam says with a sigh. "But I'm a good tenant!" He assures. Benny grins.

 

"S'okay," he assures. "Just wanted to make sure you were still alive," he says. "You left the door open last night,"

 

Sam closes his eyes in horror. "Look, I'm really sorry about that--"

 

"Told you Sam, it's okay. Better say hello to your neighbors. The girls upstairs have been dying to meet you," Benny says.

 

Before Sam can ask what he means, Benny is waving goodbye and returning to his walk.

 

With another sigh, Sam closes the door and cleans himself up to meet his supposedly eager neighbors.

 

=

 

"Meg, sit down!" Lucifer yells, trying to calm his screaming baby and making breakfast at the same time. Meg shrieks with laughter and dashes off, stepping on Ruby's lap and causing the older girl to yell and chase after her sister. Anna sits quietly by herself and plays with a stuffed dog in her lap, ignoring the other two girls.

 

Lucifer growls and grabs Meg's collar when she passes, tugging her to a stop. A cold stare shuts her up and Ruby stills, eyes wide. Even the baby hushes up, sniffling. It's dead quiet for a few beats, then the doorbell rings.

 

"I'll get it!" Ruby cries, hurrying to the door before her father can stop her. She throws the door open and glances up. And up. And up. She blushes when she meets Sam's eyes and ducks her head shyly.

 

"Hi," she says softly.

 

"Hey. Is, uh, your dad around?" Sam asks, rubbing his neck nervously. Ruby nods and dashes off to get Lucifer. A few moments later, the older father steps out of the kitchen, looking very tired with a fussy baby in his arms. He has has messy short blond hair and blue eyes that could cut metal. He's admittedly very attractive, and built. There are tattoos wringing his wrists and arms; the one on his left wrist, just under his watch, is a black snake wrapped twice around. On his upper left arm is a bundle of deep red roses and thorns wound around his arm and disappearing under his sleeve. On his right arm, along the side of his bicep, reads something that might be a bible verse, but Sam's not sure; the text is foreign.

 

"Yes?" Lucifer asks, narrowing his eyes when Sam's eyes wander for too long. Sam's cheeks pink.

 

Sam swallows. "Yes, uh. I'm the new neighbor, and I was told--"

 

"You're Sam?" Meg shouts, popping her head up. "I'm Meg," she says, stomping forward and holding out a hand. The corner of Sam's lips twist into a grin.

 

"Sam," Sam says, shaking her hand.

 

The man seems to soften. "Sorry about them. They got very excited when they heard a new neighbor was coming. They like people," the man says, holding out his hand. "Lucifer Milton,"

 

"Sam Winchester," Sam says, shaking the man's hand firmly. He doesn't comment on the man's name. "And these all are...?"

 

"Meg," Lucifer points to the wavy brown haired girl who looks to be about nine, "Ruby," the girl who opened the door, with long, straight brown hair; she looks around twelve, "Anna," the girl materializes by Lucian's side, hiding behind his leg; she has bright red hair and looks around seven, "and finally, Hester." The baby blinks up at Sam, staring at him with blue, blue eyes. The baby is oddly beautiful.

 

"Nice to meet you all," Sam says, smiling at them. "but I'm afraid I'm going to be very boring to you,"

 

"No," Meg says, grabbing Sam's hand and dragging him inside. "You're gonna be fun! Daddy, can he stay for breakfast?" Meg asks.

 

Lucifer hesitate then nods. "Ruby, go get him a place mat," he relents, closing the door as Sam tumbles the rest of the way in.

 

Meg is dead set on having Sam sit next to her, Ruby shyly sitting across from him, Anna next to Ruby but leaving the other space next to Sam alone. Lucifer continues to make breakfast, singing softly to himself. Sam listens distractedly, thinking to himself what a wonderful voice Lucifer has as he chats with Meg.

 

Ten minutes later Lucifer is calling Ruby over to help him serve the food. Sam is hit with the strong, heady smell of good food, and his stomach growls loudly. Anna and Meg giggle as Lucifer takes the seat next to Sam.

 

"So," Lucifer says, lifting his fork. "What do you do for a living?"

 

Sam swallows his mouthful of eggs--fucking amazing eggs; honestly the best he's ever had, and the bacon is _perfect_ \--and wipes his mouth quickly. "I'm an artist," Sam says.

 

Lucifer raises his brows. "Oh? What's your medium?"

 

"Anything," Sam says. "I'm multi-media. I do sketching, painting, watercolor, sculpting... Just. Anything, you name it,"

 

Lucifer's slow, curling smile makes Sam's chest flutter. "You should show me sometime," he says.

 

"Come over then," Sam says. Lucifer smiles wider and Sam's cheeks feel warm again. Are they flirting? Sam can't really tell, and on top of that, Lucifer has four daughters. Sam doubts he's gay. Maybe he's just friendly? Or naturally flirtatious?

 

"How old are you?" Meg asks loudly.

 

"Meg," Lucifer says sharply.

 

"It's okay," Sam says, patting the top of Meg's head.

 

"No, it's not. You may not mind, but if she keeps that up, she's going to offend someone," Lucifer says, rubbing his eyes.

 

"So?" Meg asks.

 

"Twenty-one," Sam says softly.

 

"Really?" Lucifer groans, rubbing his eyes even harder. Sam glances up.

 

"Yes?"

 

Lucifer lifts his hand off his eyes and stares at Sam for a moment, confused, then suddenly waves his hand quickly. "Nevermind," he says.

 

Sam scowls but doesn't ask. It's stiffly quiet, but then Ruby steals a slice of Meg's bacon and Meg starts shouting at her, and then all hell breaks loose. Sam helps Lucifer clean up the mess the two made from their fight while they both sit in time out, and about half an hour later, Sam is on his way out.

 

"Sorry," Lucifer says, gazing apologetically up at Sam.

 

"It's fine," Sam assures. "It makes things interesting,"

 

"Interesting is one word," Lucifer grumbles, and Sam laughs.

 

"Whenever you're free, you should come have a beer," Lucifer says. "The girls clock out at eight. You can come over and ask all the questions you want then,"

 

"Questions?" Sam asks, blinking.

 

"You'll think of some," Lucifer says. "Have a nice day, Sam,"

 

"You too," Sam says. He could've sworn Lucifer winked at him when he closed the door.

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

Sam forgoes getting gas for unpacking. It takes a few hours, but luckily, Sam doesn’t have a lot of things. Just an easel, a few canvases, some other miscellaneous art supplies, some personal items, and everything in his duffle.

When Sam finishes, he realizes just how little shit he has. Either that or this apartment is big.

Sam grabs a beer from a cooler he’d brought along with him and sits in on his small, shitty couch that Dean gave him as a graduation gift from his new place. There’s no TV in his house yet, but he has a new sketchbook to keep himself busy.

Without really thinking about it, Sam is drawing Lucifer. He thinks dimly of what an odd and rather cruel name to have it is, among other things. He switches between colored pencils, becoming rather focused on what should’ve just been a doodle. Everything is pretty good, but Sam just can’t get those damn eyes right. One blue is too bright, another too dark, another too light, one that’s close but just not there…

“Jesus, he has four daughters,” Sam hisses to himself, snapping his book shut and tossing it aside. He scrubs his palms over his face and falls over onto his couch, sighing wearily.

Now he’s bored.

Well, he could draw, but all he wants to draw is Lucifer, but he feels like he’s crossing a line somehow. The man has kids, and--

Fuck. Where’s their mother?

Sam didn’t see a ring on Lucifer’s finger, and the guy looked tired enough to be taking the kids on all by himself. Maybe the mom works? But… No ring. None of the kids even really looked like Lucifer’s either, save the baby… Maybe she’s dead?

_Questions?_

__

_You’ll have some._

You’re damn right he does.

=

When Sam’s stomach growls at him for lunch and he finishes off the rest of the items in the cooler--save the beers--Sam decides its time to work out the car situation.

Sam grabs two more beers and heads over to Benny, deciding he might be his best bet. Lucifer is probably too busy with his daughters to help, and even if he could, Sam doesn’t want to bother him.

“Oh, Sam. And beer. Whattaya need, Sam?” Benny asks, taking the beer and ushering him inside.

“My car is out of gas,” Sam says, not yet taking a seat. He has a rule; don’t sit down unless you’re invited too if you’re the one intruding.

Benny nods thoughtfully and sips his beer. “That’s a problem,”

“Well,” Sam shifts his weight from one foot to the other. “I was wondering if you could drive me to the gas station so I can get gas? I can pay you, if you--”

Benny holds up a hand. “No need. I have some gas. Don’t need to go out at all,” Benny says, smiling. Sam’s eyes widen.

“Oh, no, I couldn’t, I--”

“Insist,” Benny finishes for him. “Don’t worry about it Sam. You can get gas there for the rest of the time, but whenever you need somethin’, don’t be scared to ask. We’re all friendly here,” Benny says, smiling.

Sam wants to argue, but Benny has a look in his eyes that says “shut up and just accept it.” So he does. A few minutes later, Sam is filling his car back up while Benny finishes off his beer. Benny’s dog sits off to the side and watches them, tail swishing lazily.

“What’s his name?” Sam asks, handing Benny his gas container back.

“ _Her_ name is Sugar,” Benny says. Sugar hops up and pads over, butting Benny’s hand. Benny scratches her ears with a small smile.

“Where’d you get her?” Sam asks, petting Sugar’s back. Sugar wags her tail eagerly and gives Sam a big, sloppy kiss.

“Well, some piece ‘a shit left a puppy on the side of the road, and I couldn’t just leave her, so I took her in. I’ve had her for a year or so,” Benny says, scratching his cheek.

“Wow. Lucky you,” Sam says, rubbing Sugar’s ears. The dog whines happily.

“Don’t be too sweet on her. She won’t leave you alone,” Benny says, grinning.

“I’ll try not to. Thank you for the gas,” Sam says. Benny tips his hat.

“No problem, kid. Need anythin’ else, just holler,” Benny says. Sam tells him he’ll take that to mind, and Benny retreats back to his apartment with Sugar in tow. With a short exhale, Sam hops into his car and heads into town to find a job.

=

Nothing. Fucking nothing.

Not even the convenience store has a job opening, or the gas station, and definitely not the studio he stopped by. Some pretty boy literally turned his nose up at Sam and with a short, rude reply, he shut the door in Sam’s face. Embarrassed and pissed off, Sam broods in his car over a newspaper, scanning the Help Wanted section.

There’s nothing in it that’s nearby, really, aside from a job in construction, but when Sam called them, they said they’d get back to him. They didn’t say when, and before Sam could ask anything else, they hung up on him.

Sam groans low in his throat and slumps in his seat. What the hell is he going to do?

=

Lucifer is positive he might die if he doesn’t get some sleep.

Hester has been extremely fussy lately, crying all night long despite Lucifer’s attempts to soothe her. Somewhere in the middle of the night, Anna wet her bed, waking Meg up and thus waking up Ruby. Soon, the house is alive again with wide awake girls who should be asleep, and Lucifer is sure as hell not going to get anymore sleep.

Eventually, the lack of sleep gets the better of Lucifer--it’s been like this for a few days, and on top of that, he’s got his...job--and he passes out on his living room floor. Scared and not sure what to do, Ruby hurries over to Sam’s.

“Sam!” She cries, pounding on his door. Sam had just got home for a fruitless day of job hunting and is lying on the couch, trying to take a nap. He jostles awake, grabbing the gun hidden under his pillow and had it ready to shoot, but realizes there’s no one in the house. The door is locked, and he hears someone pounding on it. It’s Ruby. She sounds scared.

Sam cusses and slips his gun into the back of his jeans--just in case--and hurries to answer the door. Ruby is crying, and grabs onto his shirt.

“It’s my Daddy,” she sobs. “He fell down and he’s not waking up!”

Sam doesn’t ask and follows her back to her house, indeed, as she said, finding him on the floor. When he quickly crouches down to check on him, ear to his mouth, he realizes that Lucifer is actually just sleeping. It doesn’t make him any less worried.

“What happened?” He asks, lifting Lucifer up--fuck, he’s heavy--and transporting him to the bed. Hester is whimpering in her crib, ready to cry, and Sam quickly scoops her up. She quiets almost instantly.

“I dunno,” Ruby says, sniffling. “H-He just-- He fell down! I dunno what happened. He fell down, a-an’ he wasn’t waking up,”

“Shh, come here,” Sam whispers, pulling her close. She grabs his shirt again and hides her face in his side, crying softly. “It’s okay, Ruby. I think he’s just sleeping. He looked tired,”

“His eyes are funny. Is he sick?” Meg asks. She has tears in her eyes too, and her voice hiccups every so often. She looks to have just stopped crying, but might cry again.

“Naw. He’s just really tired. When you get tired, you get these funny things under your eyes,” Sam says, pointing to the bags under Lucifer’s eyes.

“But h-he’s not sick, right?” Ruby asks.

“Nope, not sick. Just tired. Why don’t we let him sleep?” Sam inquires gently. He feels something tug on his pant leg. It’s Anna.

“Watch this with us,” she says quietly, holding up a movie. It’s the Lilo and Stitch.

“Yeah. Why don’t we?” Sam asks, taking the movie and popping it in. While the credits roll, Sam finds a metal bowl and popcorn. Soon, the house is filled with the smell of popcorn, and when he brings it back to the girls, he grins when the giggle with glee upon finding the M&Ms he snuck in there. They all watch the movie in silence, munching on the popcorn while Lucifer sleeps. Hester is quiet throughout most of it, only crying when she needs to be changed. Ruby helps Sam finding the fresh diapers and assists him with changing the baby. When Hester is all wrapped up, she giggles and coos peacefully and stays quiet the rest of the movie.

=

Lucifer sleeps out the movie, and doesn’t wake up until midway through the girls’ nap. He snaps awake, eyes wide in horror when he finds the house deadly quiet. Not his girls, they couldn’t have gotten his girls--

“Hey, calm down, they’re asleep,” Sam says. Lucifer snaps his head up to see Sam crouching next to him. Sam looks uncomfortable. “Hey, can you, uh, I don’t know-- Let go of my wrist?”

“Oh,” Lucifer had honestly not noticed he was holding it. “Sorry,” he says, letting go.

“No problem,” Sam says, exhaling softly. He stands. “Sorry for barging in. Ruby ran to my place saying you passed out. When’s the last time you had proper sleep?”

“A while,” Lucifer mutter wearily, sitting up. “Thank you,” he says, raising his brows in surprise as Sam hands him a glass of cold water.

“No problem,” Sam says, not sitting down. Lucifer frowns up at him.

“Sit down. You’re way too tall,” Lucifer mutters, sipping his water. Sam looks relieved and takes a seat.

“What’s with the gun?” Lucifer asks. Sam flinches in surprises and his mouth opens and closes hilariously, causing Lucifer to laugh. Sam’s face is red.

“I-I-- Look, I freaked out. I thought you guys were in danger, and I have a gun--also a permit! I have a permit,” Sam flounders. He opens his mouth to continue, but stops when he sees Lucifer is laughing.

“Oh god, calm down. I have one too. More than one actually. It’s kind of comforting, actually,” Lucifer says, wiping his eyes. “Just don’t let the girls see it,” he says.

“I’ll make sure of that,” Sam says, relaxing.

“So, Sammy, what made you get a gun?” Lucifer asks, leaning back.

“Don’t call me Sammy,” he says easily, “and I grew up with them. Dad was a bounty hunter,” Sam says.

Lucifer grins at the immediate rejection, and raises his brows at the bounty hunter comment. “Was he? Did he try to pass on the family business?”

“Like you wouldn’t believe,” Sam says sourly. “Dean was all for it. It’s not my gig,”

“You have a brother?” Lucifer asks. There’s an odd twinge in his voice and his face is unreadable.

Sam nods. “Yeah. He stopped talking to me when I went to art school, though,” Sam mutters, looking down at his hands in his laps. Lucifer nods sympathetically.

“I know what you mean,” he murmurs. “I have a few brothers,” he says quietly. “We’re not on very good terms. Well, I am with one, but we’re more so business partners then brothers,” Lucifer says with a wry smile.

“What do you do?” Sam asks. God, he wishes he had a beer.

Lucifer glances up and smiles, but something is off about it. “A family business of sorts. Think bounty hunters, but not really. I do legal things,” Lucifer says with a shrugs. Something in his tone tells Sam not to ask about it anymore, so he doesn’t.

“I, uh, have questions,” Sam says, clearing his throat awkwardly.

“And I have beer. Let me get them and you can ask away,” Lucifer says, getting to his feet. He hands Sam a cold beer and sits back down. “Fire at will,” Lucifer says, waving a hand for Sam to go.

“Okay,” Sam says, taking a breath. “Where’s your wife?”

Lucifer closes his eyes, and his look becomes carefully blank. “Dead. Next,”

Sam almost regrets asking, but he kind of expected it. He pushes on. “Are all the kids yours? None of them look like you,”

“Nope. In fact, all of them are adopted. But they’re my girls,” Lucifer says softly, smiling fondly. “Next?” His eyes are opened. In this lighting, they look even bluer than before.

“Do you wear contacts?” Sam finds himself asking.

Lucifer grins. “I do not. You’re the second person to have asked me that,”

“And the first?”

“My former wife,” Lucifer says softly. “Next,”

“Why does Benny walk his dog so early?” Sam asks, realizing suddenly that it had to have been extremely early in the morning for Benny to find his door open and close it.

“The guy is practically nocturnal,” Lucifer says with a huff. “My brother calls him a vampire. He thinks its funny. He also used to be a pirate,” Lucifer says with a grin.

“Really?”

“No. He was a sailor, but the girls didn’t quite get it when he told him that, so he said pirate. Now they won’t let it die,”

Sam snorts in amusement. “Does it bother him?”

“Not even remotely,” Lucifer says. “Next question,”

“Uh,” Sam taps his chin thoughtfully. “Would it be rude to ask your age?”

“Yes, it is, but you’re cute enough, so I don’t mind saying. I’m 34,” Lucifer says. Sam blushes darkly when he realizes Lucifer called him cute.

“I, uh--”

“I know, I’m old,” Lucifer says with a sigh. “And you’re, what? 13 years younger than me? Anyways,” Lucifer sighs and gets to his feet. “I’m sorry for doing that,”

“Oh, no, not at all!” Sam says, happy that the subject has been changed. “They were great. If you need anymore help, just tell me,” Sam says.

Lucifer stares at Sam for a moment, quiet, then says. “You have a job?”

Sam sags. “No,” he says lowly.

“How about this: you help me take care of my girls, and I’ll pay you. Whenever I need you, just come. It’s not going to be an all day type of thing, but the help would be appreciated. Just until you find a real job,” Lucifer offers.

Sam blinks. “Oh. Uh. Yeah, sure. That sounds good,” he says, getting to his feet.

“Wonderful. See you tomorrow then?” Lucifer asks, holding out a hand.

“Tomorrow,” Sam says, shaking Lucifer’s hand.

**  
**Sam’s hand is still tingling for Lucifer’s cold skin as he walks back to his apartment.


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning, Lucifer calls Sam early. “ _Sorry_ ,” he says. He sounds tired. “ _They woke up and they want to see you. You hungry?_ ”

“Starving,” Sam admits. “I’ll be over in a few. Let me just get presentable,”

“ _See you then, Sammy_ ,” Lucifer says, and he hangs up before Sam can argue with the nickname.

Sam showers, brushes his teeth, and changes into a nice plaid shirt before walking back to Lucifer’s. Meg answers the door this time, smiling wide with glee, and drags him to the kitchen.

“We’re making pancakes!” Meg says, throwing up her arms. Sam surveys the kitchen, finding it looking like something exploded. There’s batter everywhere, flour dusts the floor and the top of Lucifer’s head--he glares blackly at Sam when Sam chuckles--and all four girls, even the baby, are dirty somehow.

“It looks like World War 3 in here,” Sam snorts.

“You don’t need to help cook. Just help me clean up,” Lucifer says. His voice is even more weary in person.

Sam notices the stack of pancakes already ready on the table. “Meg, Ruby, can you get some syrup? And…” He leans down and whispers. “Some M&Ms too,” he adds quietly, though Lucifer can hear him. Lucifer smiles but doesn’t argue, and the girls, buzzing with excitement, hurry to get the things.

“You ready to eat?” Sam calls when he sees everything set on the table.

“Yeah!” They cry, even Anna, and they all pile into their seat at the table. Lucifer’s shoulders droop and he sighs.

 

“Thank you,” he murmurs, placing a hand on Sam’s arm. Sam smiles.

“No problem,” he whispers back.

Lucifer sits down with the girls and eats, and even though the girls protest, Sam cleans instead.

“Just eat, I need to clean up,” Sam calls back. “Make me a plate and I’ll eat it, don’t worry,”

After Sam finishes, he comes back to a large stack of pancakes doused in syrup and M&Ms. Lucifer watches him with a thoroughly amused expression, chin in one hand, and the girls look at him expectantly.

“Did you do something to it?” Sam asks, narrowing his eyes at Lucifer.

“Who? Me? How mean of you, Sammy, to think such things,” Lucifer says, grinning wickedly. It doesn’t settle Sam in the least, and Sam would say something about the nickname, but decides he’ll never get rid of it if he says something in front of the girls.

Sam gazes at Lucifer warily but takes a bite. Holy fuck, his taste buds have melted, this pancake is so good.

Lucifer definitely did something to it: he added chocolate syrup into the middle. Sam doesn’t know how but he sure as hell doesn’t argue, digging into it with sudden vigor. It’s finished all too soon and there aren’t any more pancakes left.

“You,” Sam says after wiping his mouth, “are a cooking god,”

“Thank you,” Lucifer says, laughing.

The girls help clean up the plates, and this time, Lucifer forces Sam to sit and relax. When everything is put away, the girls are sent straight to the bath.

“Let me help,” Sam says, getting to his feet. Lucifer looks relieved at Sam’s offer and the two tag team on getting the girls clean.

Ruby takes the first bath, getting washed by herself, but Anna, Meg, and Hester all need assistance. Lucifer takes the two older girls and Sam washes the baby in the kitchen sink. Hester screams the whole time, not at all happy with the water, but Sam powers through it, washing her efficiently.

When everyone is all sparkly clean and in new clothes, Sam sits them down with a movie and M&M spiked popcorn. Lucifer holds a sleeping Hester in his arm while he and Sam stand in the kitchen.

“Thank you, seriously,” Lucifer says. “You don’t know how much this helps,”

“It’s no big deal. Kind of fun, actually. I’ve been told I have a way with kids,” Sam says, shrugging.

“You do. How does two hundred sound?”

Sam blinks in shock and stutters, trying to process what’s been told. “T-two hundred what?”

“Dollars. At the end of the week, for all of this,” Lucifer says.

Sam stares at him. “D-Don’t you think that’s a bit much?”

“Not even remotely. So does that sound good?” Lucifer asks. His look says that Sam shouldn’t argue.

“Yeah, sounds good,” Sam says, forfeiting. Lucifer smiles.

“Wonderful. I’ll pay you at the end of the week,”

=

Sam goes back to his apartment a few hours later when the girls take their nap, still stunned. Two hundred fucking dollars! Sam doubts he’s ever gotten that much for a job, and this one is so easy. Sam really wants to argue, for modesty, but Lucifer left no room for debate and that was that.

Sunlight pours through the slits in the shades, casting the practically empty apartment in a warm golden light. Sam grabs his sketchbook and draws it, using nice gold colored pens he got for his birthday from his ex-girlfriend Jessica.

Jessica. Sam hasn’t spoken to her in a year since they broke up. It wasn’t a very messy one, but Sam knew Jessica was hurt--she still had feelings, but Sam… Sam just couldn’t do it anymore--and even though they promised each other they’d be friends, it never happened. Jessica stopped talking to him and Sam never tried.

Overcome with a sudden surge of rather ugly emotions, Sam ditches the gold pens, flips to a new page, and pulls his colored pencils close.

He ends up filling the next few pages with pictures of Lucifer.

Sam has a crush, a dumb, stupid crush on a man a decade plus older than him with four little girls and a dead wife. God, he can’t help it. Lucifer is enigmatic, attractive, a fantastic cook, generous… So many things. Frankly, he’s out of Sam’s league, and Sam hasn’t been with enough guys--just hookups, never a relationship like he honestly wants with Lucifer--to give him much experience on what to do. Girls have a certain knack to them; most of them dig the romantic stuff, and Sam is really good at that, so he’s never had a hard time with girls. But guys? Guys are something else. Most guys Sam has hooked up with have been a hit and run, and Sam doubts that Lucifer will be wooed with Sam’s sickeningly romantic ways. Or maybe he will. Sam decides he just needs to hang out with him more to see what he likes.

Or, shit, see if he even likes men.

_But you’re cute enough._

A straight man doesn’t say that, no matter how flirtatious. Lucifer’s probably bisexual.

=

“Pansexual, actually,” Benny says. He had invited Sam over for dinner to help him finish off some of the best gumbo and steak Sam has ever eaten, as well as the pack of beers Benny bought for the occasion.  “You takin’ a likin’ to him?” Benny asks, cocking a brow.

“Yeah, kind of,” Sam admits, blushing. “It’s probably a bad idea, he has kids, and--”

“Fuckin’ finally,” Benny says. Sam stills and stares at him.

“What do you--”

“He needs a break. Any break. A relationship is the perfect thing for him. He’s not willing to go out and look, says he’s too busy, but you should try. He already likes you,”

Sam blinks and perks up. “He does?”

“‘Course he does. You’re young, fresh-faced, cute as a button, and you work well with his kids. He probably thinks himself blessed,” Benny says, shrugging and knocking back the rest of his beer.

“I’ll… I’ll do that. Thanks for the heads up,”

“Mhm,”

=

Dean’s always been the flirtatious one. It comes to him naturally. Hell, he does it without thinking; any cute skirt he sees he’s smile charmingly and chat her up, but Sam has always been bad at it. He stumbles over his words, blushes, doesn’t smile as much as he should. He’s gotten better over the years, but he’s still not as good as Dean.

Lucifer, however, flirts enough for the both of them.

Sam figures out almost right off the bat how much Lucifer likes physical contact; light touches on Sam’s arm when he passes him, tousling Sam’s hair when Sam’s sitting down, sitting close on the couch or on the floor if they’re trying to figure out a puzzle with the girls. Just. Touching. If Sam didn’t know any better, he wouldn’t think much of it, but now he’s on high alert and Lucifer does it a lot.

And he makes so many innuendos.

“You, single? That’s surprising; I would’ve snatched you up in an instant,” or “You have a nice smile, Sammy; keep it up and I’ll want you all to myself,” or, which never fails to make Sam blush, “Don’t flirt too much, Sammy; I’ve been known to bite.” All of which followed either by a sly wink or a wide smile.

It’s the following week after Sam’s been paid that they’re sitting on the couch while they girls are asleep, pressed shoulder to shoulder and sharing a beer, that something happens.

“You should show me some of your drawings,” Lucifer says. Sitting this close, Sam can smell his cologne, and it smells amazing.

“Naw, you’d think I’m weird,” Sam says, shaking his head.

“Try me,” Lucifer says.

“They’re all of you, it’s-- Oh. Wasn’t supposed to say that,” Sam says, frowning. How many beers has he had?

“Really? Do you like me, Sam?” Lucifer asks. He’s leaned in even closer, nose brushing along the side of Sam’s neck. His breath is cool on Sam’s heated skin, and it makes him shiver.

“Yeah,” Sam says quietly.

“Kiss me then,” Lucifer urges. Sam glances up, finding Lucifer’s face just inches from his, and he leans forward, closing the small space between their lips.

It’s sloppy at first--they’re both drunk--but they figure it out. Lucifer touches Sam even more now that he can, hands rubbing his sides, grabbing his shirt, squeezing his shoulders. His skin is cold but it feels nice under Sam’s heated palms. Somehow they’re lying down, Sam on top of Lucifer, kissing him lazily. It goes on like that, just slow, easy kisses, for who knows how long, until the sound of the fridge opening forces them apart.

Sam sits up quickly, cheeks flushes in embarrassment and slight intoxication, but no little girl comes around the corner to check on them. The door shuts again, leaving the apartment dark, and a flash of bright red hair can be seen disappearing sleepily back to the hallway. Sam relaxes when he hears a second door quietly close.

“I, uhm,” he glances down to see Lucifer propped on his elbows, gazing up at him expectantly. “Does this--”

“You think too much,” Lucifer sighs, grabbing Sam’s collar and yanking him back into the kiss. Sam is surprised for a few beats, but melts back into it, eyes fluttering shut. The kiss is shorter this time, and Lucifer doesn’t pull away completely when it ends.

“I like you, Sam. So do my girls. You think we can manage?” Lucifer asks quietly.

**  
**“Yeah,” Sam says. “I think we can,”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm gonna be gone for a week or so, and I might get Internet?? But most likely not. Comments and likes would be appreciated!! Thanks for reading so far.

Lucifer doesn’t call Sam over till late the next day, and the time in between almost destroyed Sam. For hours Sam kept thinking he did something to upset Lucifer, as if the kiss fucked something up, and he couldn’t bring himself to walk over to the apartment on his own and ask. So he spent most of the day killing himself with horrible possibilities.

When his phone rings, Sam surges forward to pick it up. “Hello?”

“ _Sammy, it’s me. Sorry about not calling you earlier; Meg had ballet and I forgot about it._ ” For some reason, Lucifer sounds pissed. Sam doesn’t know why, but he feels terrified by that tone of voice.

“Uh,” Sam clears his throat and tries to gather himself. “Did something happen?”

“ _You’re damn right something happened. Can you come over?_ ”

“Yeah, I’ll be over in a sec,” Sam says.

“ _No, not to the house. I need you to come to the ballet practice. I’ll text you the address_ ,”

“What happened?” Sam asks, worried.

“ _I’ll tell you when you get here_ ,”

After Sam hangs up, Lucifer texts him the address a few moments later. The drive over is short, and when he comes inside, he practically shrivels when met with the coldest stare he’s ever seen in his life. Lucifer looks pissed.

It’s not a loud kind of pissed, if that makes sense. He looks relatively calm, but too calm, far too calm, and he has a cold, dead look in his eye that could send a man to hell. Meg is hiding behind his leg, her red tutu ripped, and standing across from him is a woman in a clean, white suit and her hair tied up in an immaculate bun. At her side is a older girl, about Ruby’s age, with firey red hair. She’s smiling proudly, as if she’s won something.

The atmosphere is uncomfortably tense.

“Sam,” Lucifer says, his expression softening ever so slightly. “Nice to see you. Can you take the girls home?”

Sam glances down at Meg, then at Ruby, Anna, and Hester in her carrier sitting on a bench along the wall.

“Sure,” Sam says. The girls slowly move closer to him, hiding behind him. He frowns. Something is deeply wrong.

“Mr. Milton,” the woman says cooly. “That kind of behavior is uncalled for,”

“Your daughter should not have provoked mine,” Lucifer answers quietly.

“Your daughter should learn some manners and not scream,” the woman fires back, scowling.

“She’s passionate,” Lucifer says. He smiles, but its off. “It’s in her blood,”

The woman smiles coldly. “Whose blood? She’s not quite yours, is she?”

Lucifer stills, and does nothing. Sam’s blood boils. What the fuck is this lady’s problem?

“Anyways,” the woman says, folding her hands in front of her. “I would not like to see Meg here again, or there will be a court order to make sure of that. And we wouldn’t want that, now would we?”

“No, we would not,” Lucifer says. Meg whimpers behind Sam’s leg, and Sam gently pats the top of her head.

“It’s okay,” he murmurs, and Lucifer looks up at him. It’s quiet, then Lucifer looks back at the woman.

“Have a wonderful day, Naomi,” he says softly.

Naomi blinks. “Likewise,”

Sam, Lucifer, and the girls all leave the ballet class quietly, but when everyone is seated inside the car, Lucifer slams his fist on the dashboard. His face gives away nothing, but he’s extremely upset. Sam stands outside of his door with a soft expression.

“What happened?”

“Naomi’s monster of a child called Meg a half-breed,” Lucifer says quietly. Sam bristles. “Meg got upset, started yelling, and now she’s kicked out. Oh, there will be hell to pay.” Lucifer’s tone makes Sam shudder uncomfortably.

“Hey, why don’t we go out to lunch? I’ll pay,” Sam says softly. Lucifer glances up at Sam and all the tension in his shoulders seem to melt away.

“Thank you,” he says.

“Course,” Sam murmurs. His gaze flicks to Lucifer’s lips, wanting greatly to kiss the rest of the nerves out of him, but restraining himself.

“Something wrong?” Lucifer asks.

Sam flinches, tearing his eyes away. “Oh, uh, nothing. Where do you want to go?”

“There’s a place down the road,” Lucifer says. “I know a guy. Just follow me,”

“Yeah,” Sam says, clearing his throat awkwardly and hurrying back to his car. He catches the tail end of Lucifer’s amused smile as he rolls his window back up, and Sam cusses quietly to himself.

_Very smooth, Winchester._

=

That “guy” is a shorter man with dirty blond hair brushed back. His eyes are literally golden, and he greets Lucifer with a bright smile.

“Luci!” He calls. “And the little demons!” The girls shriek with laughter and barrel into the man’s arms, each giving him a kiss on the cheek.

“Hey, Gabriel,” Lucifer says, smiling warmly.

“Hey, bro,” Gabriel says, getting to his feet. “Oooh, who’s the boy toy?” Gabriel asks, smirking. Sam blushes when Gabriel gives him a slow, long look up and down, but Lucifer punches Gabriel’s arm for him.

“Eyes to yourself,” he growls.

“Oh my, am I sorry,” Gabriel says, holding up his palms. “I’ll back off. Who wants breakfast?”

The girls all raise their hands and Gabriel ushers them over to a large, rounded booth in the corner of the shop. It’s rather packed, filled with chattering people and the smell of good food.

“Who’s that?” Sam whispers to Lucifer as they follow, slower than the others.

“My brother,” Lucifer says.

_We’re not on very good terms. Well, I am with one, but we’re more so business partners then brothers._

“No wonder,” Sam murmurs.

“Hm?” Lucifer hums, glancing up at Sam.

“Oh, uh, the girls just seemed really close to him,”

Lucifer grimaces. “He spoils the shit out of them,” he says with a sigh. Hester coos in her carrier and Lucifer smiles warmly down at her. “You will too. Eventually,” he says with a weary sigh. Sam smiles and bumps shoulders with him.

“He doesn’t seem to bad,”

Lucifer gives him a look. “Give him twenty minutes,”

It took less then twenty minutes for Sam to want to tear Gabriel’s throat out. He was fine at first, but then he started asking questions; most of which were extremely personal, or rather embarrassing, or, more often then not, just plain intrusive. Lucifer would punch Gabriel when the girls weren’t looking before Sam could answer, but even then Sam didn’t answer most of them.

On top of it all, Gabriel is sickeningly charming. Like Lucifer, he flirts, but his flirting is more like Dean’s: blatant and without any shame. But unlike Dean, he doesn’t know when to stop.

Luckily, he’s called over by a young, rather wiry looking teenaged boy and abandons them.

“My god,” Sam whispers, sagging with relief.

“Told you,” Lucifer murmurs. He touches Sam’s knee soothingly and Sam flashes a smile.

He doesn’t take away his hand, though, and Sam blushes but doesn’t reject it.

Gabriel comes back, but this time he has food. He leaves again, a strange look on his face, and leans over to murmurs something into Lucifer’s ear before vanishing. Lucifer squeezes Sam’s knee again.

“I have to go do something. Can you watch the girls?”

“Sure,” Sam says. Lucifer pats Sam’s leg and gets out, following Gabriel into the kitchen. Meg wiggles close and pushes her place mat towards Sam and handing him a crayon. Soon, Ruby and Anna are pressing Sam to help them with the activities on their placemats, and they eat and play in relative silence. Hester only cries once, for food, and Sam feeds her while he continues scribbling on the placemats.

Lucifer doesn’t come back until an hour later. Meg is napping with her head in Sam’s lap, Anna as well with her head against Sam’s side, and Ruby holds Hester.

“Sorry,” Lucifer says, taking Hester from Ruby and placing her in her carrier. “That took longer than expected,”

“Is everything okay?” Sam asks with a yawn. He spent so long watching two girls nap that he’s starting to feel sleepy himself.

“Now it is,” Lucifer says with a fond smile. He leans over and kisses Sam’s forehead. “Thank you, again. You can sleep at my place,”

Ruby stares at Sam with wide eyes and blushes before looking away quickly. Sam glances at Lucifer but he’s too busy pulling Anna into his arms.

“Can you get Meg?” He asks. Sam nods and lifts Meg up carefully, not wanting to wake her, and Ruby tags along as they stuff everyone into the car. Sam follows Lucifer’s Nissan all the way back to the apartment, unloads everyone and helps put people to bed. Ruby mumbles something about wanting to take a nap too, and shuts her door quietly. Sam rubs his neck and glances at Lucifer.

“She saw you kiss my forehead,” he murmurs.

“I know,” Lucifer says, stepping forward and taking Sam by the hips, pulling him closer. Sam squeaks and flushes darkly.

“I, uh,”

“Hush,” Lucifer says softly, kissing Sam to shut him up. Sam doesn’t argue and instead grabs Lucifer’s collar, tugging him closer. Lucifer rubs his hips idly, keeping the kiss slow and deep. Despite Sam being taller, he doesn’t really need to crouch down to kiss Lucifer, which is a plus. They pull away to breathe, and its not a moment before Lucifer is pulling him back in.

“Do you still need to nap?” Lucifer asks when they break apart. Sam shrugs.

“Do you need me awake?”

“Mm, not really,”

“Yeah, a nap would be nice.”

Lucifer directs Sam back to the couch and sits him down before disappearing. He returns with a blanket and a cold hand to Sam’s chest pushes him back into a horizontal position.

“What happened earlier?” Sam asks. Lucifer doesn’t say anything until he’s settled down next to Sam and the blanket is pulled over them.

“Nothing you need to worry yourself over,” Lucifer says, twisting around so that his chest is to Sam’s back. Sam sighs--most likely not going to get anything out of him--and wraps his arms around Lucifer’s torso.

“What if your girls see us?”

“You’ll be sleeping. I’m watching TV,” Lucifer says, grabbing the remote. Sam grumbles something incoherent and tugs Lucifer flush to his chest.

**  
**“Just sleep,” Lucifer mutters. Sam is more than happy to oblige.


End file.
